Luk

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LuK GmbH & Co. oHG, with headquarter in Bühl at the black forest, is a supplier of drive train components for the automobile industry. LuK was founded 1965 by Dr. Wilhelm Schaeffler and his brother Dr. Georg Schaeffler in Bühl's industrial park as LuK GmbH. LuK emanated from the company "Lamellen- und Kupplungsbau August Häussermann", founded 1927 in Stuttgart-Wangen.

The production portfolio of August Häussermann was expanded by motor vehicle clutches and vehicle clutch discs after the second world war. The diaphragm spring clutch, becoming one of the major parts of production for motor vehicles, complimented this portfolio. From May 1965 on LuK delivered diaphragm spring lutches for the VW Beetle successor in series. 1967 Dr. Ernst Kohlhage took over the business as CEO of the automobile supplier from Bühl. Under his leadership the company grew rapidly and did expand quickly - nationally as well as internationally. Series productions of vehicle clutches for other well-known local and global car manufacturers followed. The portfolio was topped by a considerable trade programme of spare clutch discs mainly for export purposes. Out of this business the AS Autoteile-Service GmbH (today LuK Aftermarket) was founded 1975 in Mörfelden close to Frankfurt.

End of the 70s production volume reached 200-million-DM-limit for the first time. The dual mass flywheel (DMF), celebrated as a world novelty, was developed by LuK 1985 and became the best selling product of the company in the 90s. 1995 LuK started mass production of the self-adjusting clutch (SAC) as the first clutch manufacturer worldwide. Since 1999 LuK is delivering components for the CVT transmission "Multitronic" of Audi. On 1st of January 2000 INA Schaeffler Holding (today Schaeffler KG) took over the remaining 50% of the LuK Group. The same year, Dr. Kohlhage handed-over the business to his successor Helmut Beier after 33 year of great success. Every 4th car worldwide is leaving production line equipped with a LuK clutch.

Since 2003 Dr. Peter Gutzmer is CEO of the LuK Group. The product portfolio of LuK comprises today clutch systems, dampers, transmission components for CVT, automatic as well as double clutch transmissions. With more than 8000 employees (3500 only in Bühl) LuK is one of the biggest employers within the Region.

A separate company also exists, called "LUK Aftermarket Service."

External links

[Homepage of LuK]
[Homepage of LuK AS]

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